Lawyers for three Washington state police officers charged in the 2020 death of a Black man told the jury on Tuesday that his death was the result of drug use, not excessive force that included officers choking, shocking and holding him facedown. Manuel Ellis was addicted to methamphetamine, and it caused him to be violent, unpredictable, and paranoid, said Wayne Fricke, who represents Tacoma police Officer Christopher Burbank.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a situation where he created his own death,\u201d Fricke said during closing arguments in the officers\u2019 nine-week trial on murder and manslaughter charges. \u201cIt was his behaviour that forced the officers to use force against him because he created a situation that required them to act.\u201d Fricke\u2019s remarks followed closing arguments by special prosecutor Patty Eakes, who urged the jury to compare the officers\u2019 statements with videos and witness testimony to determine the officers\u2019 credibility. Eakes is prosecuting the case on behalf of the Washington Attorney General\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
Ellis, who repeatedly told the officers, \u201cCan\u2019t breathe, sir\u201d, died March 3, 2020, nearly three months before George Floyd\u2019s death would spark an international outcry against police brutality. This is the first trial of officers charged in a suspect\u2019s death since voters approved a measure in 2018 removing a requirement that prosecutors must prove police acted with malice. Two of the Tacoma, Washington, officers \u2013 Burbank, 38, and Matthew Collins, 40 \u2013 were charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Timothy Rankine, 34, is charged with manslaughter.<\/p>\n
Collins\u2019 lawyer, Jared Ausserer, also gave his closing arguments on Tuesday. Rankine\u2019s lawyer was expected to do so Wednesday. The prosecution will then have one more chance to address the jury before it begins deliberations. Eakes played audio clips of the officers\u2019 statements and compared them with video and witness testimony to show that they contradicted each other. Collins stated that Ellis grabbed him by his vest, lifted him off his feet and threw him into the street like a child, despite the fact that he weighs about 230 pounds (104 kilograms) with his gear on, Eakes said. But none of the witnesses saw that happen and it\u2019s not on the videos, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it believable anyway?\u201d Eakes asked. \u201cI suggest to you it\u2019s not. This isn\u2019t a comic book.\u201d Collins also claimed that, as he held Ellis to the ground, he feared he might be alone in trying to control the suspect because he couldn\u2019t see Burbank nearby. But Eakes played a video and displayed screenshots clearly showing Burbank standing right in front of Collins the whole time. Burbank made similar claims in his statement to investigators. He said Ellis hit him in the mouth, using \u201cwild strikes\u201d, and claimed Ellis was \u201cassaultive\u201d the entire time.<\/p>\n
But the videos show Ellis\u2019 legs never moved while he was on the ground, with Collins on his back, placing him in a chokehold. They also show his hands in the air, with his palms in \u201ca surrender-type position\u201d, Eakes said. The officers\u2019 statements were contradicted by six witnesses, she said. \u201cThey make Mr. Ellis out to be violent in ways you don\u2019t see on the video,\u201d Eakes said. \u201cWhy? They\u2019re justifying the use of force that you can see happened in that video. Do you trust the video? Do you trust what the eyewitnesses say?\u201d Lawyers for the officers said the videos and witnesses are flawed and the officers acted appropriately.<\/p>\n
Witness Sara McDowell, who used her phone to record the early part of the incident, can be heard on the video yelling, \u201cJust arrest him, just arrest him\u201d, Fricke said. \u201cIf there\u2019s nothing to arrest him for, why did she say, Just arrest him?'\u201d Fricke asked. \u201cThey know something happened before this video kicked in. And once he began resisting arrest, the officers had every means within their power to make an arrest. When he started fighting that arrest, he was resisting arrest. They have an obligation to get him under control and that\u2019s what they were trying to do.\u201d Burbank did what he was trained to do and what the facts required him to do, Fricke said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one wanted him to die, but ultimately he died, and that\u2019s sad,\u201d Fricke said. \u201cWe don\u2019t compound that tragedy by convicting innocent people of these charges.\u201d In his closing argument, Collins\u2019 attorney, Ausserer, urged the jury to question the credibility of the witnesses, including McDowell, who made one of the videos. \u201cIf she was so upset, why did she wait three months to come forward?\u201d he asked. He also questioned why the two phones that recorded the videos stopped working after the phone owners met with the family\u2019s lawyer.<\/p>\n
The officers can\u2019t be found guilty of felony murder if no felony was committed by them, Ausserer said. They made a lawful arrest because Ellis committed assault when he punched the patrol car window and he resisted arrest, he added. \u201cIf there was probable cause, there is no felony and we\u2019re done,\u201d Ausserer said. \u201cThe tragedy of his death doesn\u2019t make the actions of Officer Collins criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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